Essay on Epic of Gilgamesh & Star Wars: Heroes Pursuing Dreams for Change

Introduction

The films The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Star Wars Series by George Lucas are mythical films which were done as stories based on the myths of the people and were based on several themes that were meant for advocating for changes in the society. These two films showed the diverse difference between the ancient days of tradition and the present-day modernity. The characters in the films are presented and described as heroes who had to go through a hard time to pursue their dreams and make sure that they achieved the dreams of what they were pursuing even if it had not been easy for them to do so. There are so many things which make these two films look alike, and others make them different both in structure and the basis on which each of them was written. Discussed here is the contrast and comparison of the two films considering quite several aspects of them to show how they were similar and how different they turned to be.

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The Films Contrast and Comparisons

In comparing the two films The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Star Wars Series by Lucas George, the various points that have been considered to clearly and thoroughly look at these differences and similarities are what is being sought by the heroes who are presented as the main characters in the films. These are the heroes of both the female and male gender who live in societies that have several limitations that hinder them from reaching their goals easily and seeing a realization of what they wanted to achieve as heroes in society. The second point of consideration for this discussion is why these heroes were striving to seek whatever they were seeking through the battles that they fought for a very long time in their different settings (Hunter, 2017). There were trials involved in the whole process of the heroes trying to fight for the quests that they wanted to make sure they attained in the societies of their living. Additionally, the various trials were able to contribute to the maturation of the heroes in different ways. Instead of bringing them down, they made them more determined and stronger to fight for the quests until they saw the results of their fight. The other primary consideration in this contrast and comparison is about the rewards that the heroes in the two films got after completing the quests successfully, and lastly, the historical, social, or religious differences which can be cited in the films to explain the quests of the ancient and modern heroes.

With the above viewpoints, an in-depth discussion on the comparison and differences between the two films and the heroes involved can be made. However, it should be noted that the films relate in so many ways and vary in a few ways (Beckman, 2018). Therefore, the similarities of the films outdo the differences in many ways and make it easy to understand the quests for heroes both in the ancient and modern days. Discussed below are the comparisons that have been analyzed and found in both the films based on the aspects pointed out above;

Comparing the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Star Wars

The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Star Wars relate in so many ways. First, they are either stories, or just films acted as a true story, but they are not based on a real story of the characters or any other real humans. What happens in these films is not what has taken place in the lives of the actors (George, 2019). However, the main reason as to why they were done as story films were to communicate various things about the ancient days and the present day modernity and show the quests for these two different worlds of the living.

What is Being Sought?

As stated earlier, the films have different heroes, both male, and female who tirelessly engage in fights and a lot of struggle because they are seeking some values in society, and they want to make sure everything is right as they expect. What the heroes like Luke and Lea of the Star Wars and Beowulf and Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh are fighting for is several values that seem to be very pertinent to everyone in the society, whether a grown-up or a child. The heroes in these films advocate values like love, loyalty, nationalism, patriotism, and family (Hassler-Forest, 2017). Breaking down the above values and discussing them in the scope of what the heroes sought for in their endeavors and experiences, the values are vital for both the ancient and modern people, and they matter a lot in determining how the lives of these people turn out to be. The films were acted at times when the values were no longer being seen among the people or rather a time when these values had become extinct in the societal people. Thus the heroes had to rise and struggle to restore the initial state of values among their people. The reasons as to why the warriors or heroes in both the films sought for these values are discussed in the section below;

Why Is It Being Sought?

From above, the values which are pertinent to the everyday living of the societal people like love, loyalty, nationalism, patriotism, and family were the core things that the heroes were seeking in their battles. The love for one another seemed to have been forgotten in the society, and no one cared about each other as people, especially in the administrative areas, rose to fight others and make sure that they benefited themselves at the expense of those others. This was considered a moral decay by the heroes, and they could not settle for less until they had seen a lasting solution to this whole problem of lack of love among their people (Beckman, 2018). This was both in the Epic of Gilgamesh as well as the Star Wars with the characters or heroes Beowulf, Gilgamesh, Lea and Luke rising to the best of their ability to fight and strive to restore the love among the people. For example, in the Star Wars by George Lucas, there is no love even between the hero Luke and the father, who seems to be connected to the spiritual world of the dark for various reasons and has got his mind focused on achieving recognition and nothing else more than that. The struggle and fight of Luke later succeeds and brings things back to order when the father realizes who he is and changes for a better life, and seemingly the entire society gets to a new point where love for one another is restored.

Families have been disintegrated, and they are not in the expected state that they should be. One of the problems in the families is that there is a lack of peace among the family members for reasons that can be overcome. Everything restored to normal, and this makes these modern. Ancient heroes advocated for the restoration of this peace among the members of various families and the whole community in general (George, 2019). This is the same case with the values of good relationships, nationalism, and patriotism where the heroes want to fight for a world where the people can take part in activities that contribute to the positive growth and development of their societies and communities and forgetting the differences of their origins, being patriotic and above all establishing the best relationships with each other throughout their lives.

What Trials are involved in the Quest?

In the entire process to seek the values discussed above, there are quite a several trials that the heroes come across, and they have to be bold enough to face and conquer these trials, which were a limitation for their purpose to restore the values in the society. Some of the trials were the resistance from fellow human beings who wanted nothing to do with the good values but instead were there to exploit other people and keep them in a state of helplessness and suffering. Most of the people who resisted this were those attached to the spiritual world of the darkness, which was interested in the increment of evil-doing among the people (Hassler-Forest, 2017). The religion and the evil world were other struggles because there were wrangles and conflicts between those who believed in the religion and those that relied heavily on the kingdom of the dark. In other words, evil had taken a large part in the whole process to ensure that the heroes would not base their battles on religion and achieve the goals, but they had to stand firm and achieve their goals.

How Do These Trials Contribute to the Maturation of the Hero?

There are benefits accrued to the trials that took place during the eras of strive for the quests of the heroes both in the modern and ancient societies. The trials serve the purpose of making the heroes stronger and bolder than never before. It gives them more focus on ensuring that they overcome the bad and get the best results as far as enhancement of a proper life among the people is concerned. For example, the father of Luke strongly resists what Luke wants, and they struggle with the darkness that is within him for a very long time (Beckman, 2018). Every day is an opportunity for Luke to get more strength and work on the trial, and he finally succeeds in bringing the father to the remembrance of his humanity. At the same time, Lea, on the other hand, as a female hero finds it hard to carry out the task because of the associated feminine challenges. Still, she continues to fight gallantly, and she does not fear to lose her own life, then she successfully achieves what she wanted her republic to attain.

What are the Rewards for Completing the Quest?

The participation of the quests by these heroes in the fights against the bad living and lack of values in the society was not only for their gains. When they complete all the quests that they had and see the people have love, good relationships, patriotism, nationalism, and the families can live together happily together, it is their happiness. This is the only reward that the heroes enjoy, and they do so with their republics and societies because they have achieved the changes together, making the lives among them better (George, 2019). This has continued to be the same for modern and ancient societies because those who fight for good values have the rewards of seeing a good society that moves together, and the people live happily.

What Can Historical, Social, or Religious Differences Be Cited to Explain the Differences Between the Quests of Ancient and Modern Heroes?

There is quite a number but not many historical, social, or religious differences that can be cited to explain the differences between the quests for the ancient and modern heroes. The main differences in the history are that the ways through which the heroes can go about their quests have changed over time from that of the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Star Wars to those that are present today (Hunter, 2017). The social quests in the modern days have continued to increase with the negative vices increasing among the people. Religions practices have continued to condemn the negative vices that would lead to heroes having quests about them and having to involve themselves in risky battles to get the things right.

Differences between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Star Wars

As pointed out earlier, there are very few differences between the Epic of Gilgamesh and The Star Wars films, and the difference here is the setting in which the heroes carried out their battles against the lack of good values in the people. One is done in a modern setting while the other one is done in an ancient day setting. The ways through which the heroes advocate and fight for a change in the Epic of Gilgamesh and The Star Wars also differ in several methods. Characterization of the two films of heroic struggle differs in the two films since the Star Wars overrides the Epic of Gilgamesh and goes to the extent of including a female hero who represents the power that women have a...